Ahmed M. Al-Zayadi
Department of Soil Science and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58000, Iraq
Walaa S. Kadhim
Department of Soil Science and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58000, Iraq
Naba S. Owayes
Department of Soil Science and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58000, Iraq
Jawad A. Kamal
Department of Soil Science and Water Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58000, Iraq
A field experiment was conducted on silty clay loam soil cultivated with wheat to evaluate the effects of bio-inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae and poultry manure on soil micronutrient concentrations. Treatments included fungal inoculum alone, poultry manure alone, their combination, and a control, arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The combined application of fungal inoculum and poultry manure significantly increased total concentrations of iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, copper, and boron in bulk soil to 5890.4, 390.5, 36.5, 1.6, 23.1, and 2.0 mg kg⁻¹, representing increases of 13%, 20.3%, 32.2%, 84%, 23.5%, and 175% over the control. In the rhizosphere, these elements reached 5650.8, 380.7, 33.2, 3.8, 21.4, and 3.5 mg kg⁻¹, with increases of 9.5%, 26.4%, 29.6%, 92%, 38.9%, and 90.1%. Available concentrations in bulk soil rose to 15.3, 10.6, 1.4, 0.4, 0.47, and 1.2 mg kg⁻¹, corresponding to increases of 51.6%, 83%, 42%, 92.5%, 65.9%, and 36.1%, while in the rhizosphere, available values reached 16.2, 11.7, 1.9, 0.7, 0.7, and 1.6 mg kg⁻¹, reflecting increases of 55%, 30%, 35.4%, 90%, 128%, and 93.7%, respectively. These enhancements are attributed to the synergistic effects of microbial activity, organic matter decomposition, and organic acid release, which improved nutrient solubility and accessibility in the root zone. The findings indicate that integrating Glomus mosseae inoculation with poultry manure is an effective and sustainable strategy to improve soil fertility, increase micronutrient availability, and enhance plant nutrient uptake, providing a practical recommendation for boosting wheat productivity while reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers.
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Copyright © 2025 Ahmed M. Al-Zayadi, Walaa S. Kadhim, Naba S. Owayes, Jawad A. Kamal
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.
